Fields of Armor

Industrial might and technological revolutions brought new kinds of weapons to the battlefield. The machine gun, the aeroplane and the tank. This episode looks at the birth of the tank and its role in trying to breakthrough massive defensive lines.

From 1919-1939 military thought was mulling over the disasters of WWI and trying to deal with a similar strategy. Germany was the leading nation in developing tank tactics and in 1940 it released its panzers upon Europe. France fell in a month.

The Western Desert of North Africa was the perfect place for tank commanders and the Desert Fox, General Rommel, proved time and again that his German forces were more than a match for anyone.

The battle of Kursk was the turning point in World War II and saw the largest clash of tanks ever seen.

In Normandy the terrain did not suit tanks and every hedge or building could contain infantry with the equipment to send them to a fiery death. This is a tale of the tankman's private war.

Hitler's massive counterattack through the Ardennes threw the confident Allies into utter confusion and meant the advantage, temporarily, swung back in Germany's favour.

After WWII many military experts predicted that the age of ground troops and tanks was past - soon, all war would be fought with long-range missiles. This news apparently never reached North Korea. In June 1950, North Korean forces backed by China launched a conventional ground invasion of NATO-supported South Korea.

On October 6, 1973, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel to reclaim land lost during the 1967's Six Day War. The results was one of the most ferocious armoured battles in history.

Facing overwhelming firepower, the Vietnamese intermingled their forces with the American's to blur the lines of battle. They were so successful that superior U.S. technology was made impotent.

The bloody, brutal, ultimately doomed Afghan War played a large part in the anger and disillusionment that led to the collapse of the USSR. The key difference between Vietnam and Afghanistan was the total lack of media coverage at home.

The Gulf War was the greatest conflict of armoured forces since WWII. Despite the major role that air power played in defeating Iraq's army, it was still necessary to physically occupy space and take prisoners to regain Kuwati terrain.

On February 26, 1991, a small U.S. armoured division sped through Iraq into what they believed was unprotected territory. At 73 Easting, they ran straight into a brigade-sized force of Iraq's Republican Guard. The ensuing six-hour battle was the fiercest engagement of the Gulf War.